Global stocks mostly higher ahead of US jobs report

A woman walks past an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm in Tokyo Friday, Aug. 3, 2018. Asian shares were flat Friday in mixed trading ahead of the U.S. jobs report later in the day. There appeared to be scant carry-over Friday from overnight gains on Wall Street as Apple reached $1 trillion in value. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A man stands near an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei 225 index and other countries indexes at a securities firm in Tokyo Friday, Aug. 3, 2018. Asian shares were flat Friday in mixed trading ahead of the U.S. jobs report later in the day. There appeared to be scant carry-over Friday from overnight gains on Wall Street as Apple reached $1 trillion in value. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A man walks past an electronic stock board showing indexes of Japan's Nikkei 225, center top, and other countries at a securities firm in Tokyo Friday, Aug. 3, 2018. Asian shares were flat Friday in mixed trading ahead of the U.S. jobs report later in the day. There appeared to be scant carry-over Friday from overnight gains on Wall Street as Apple reached $1 trillion in value. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A woman walks past an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm in Tokyo Friday, Aug. 3, 2018. Asian shares were flat Friday in mixed trading ahead of the U.S. jobs report later in the day. There appeared to be scant carry-over Friday from overnight gains on Wall Street as Apple reached $1 trillion in value. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

BANGKOK — Stock markets were mostly higher Friday ahead of the release of U.S. jobs data, which is expected to show companies still hiring at a brisk pace in the world's largest economy.

US JOBS: Optimistic employers likely continued to add jobs in July at a strong rate thanks to strong growth and consumer spending. Economists forecast that the monthly report to be released Friday will show an increase of 191,000 jobs last month, down from 213,000 in June but easily enough to lower the unemployment rate over time. The jobless rate is projected to decline to 3.9 percent, near an 18-year low, from 4 percent.

TRADE: Escalating the trade conflict between the world's two biggest economic powers, the Trump administration said it may impose a 25 percent tax on $200 billion in imports from China, to take effect after a hearing and public comment. That is up from a 10 percent tax it proposed in June. Reports of that shift brought a harsh rebuke from Chinese officials, who said such tactics were outdated and would not work.

ANALYST'S PERSPECTIVE: "Trade tensions remain the true driver for prices," Jingyi Pan of IG said in a commentary. "For the day ahead, however, it will be the set of economic data to capture the market's attention. July's jobs data will be received with strong expectations brewing ahead of the release."

TOYOTA'S RECORD: Toyota Motor Corp. reported Friday that its quarterly profit climbed 7.2 percent in April-June to a record 657.3 billion yen ($5.9 billion), exceeding analysts' forecasts thanks to strong sales in the U.S. and other overseas markets. But the company kept its full year profit forecast unchanged and downgraded its sales forecast, citing uncertainties over market trends and trade policies.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude lost 15 cents to $68.81 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It rose 1.9 percent to $68.96 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, shed 14 cents to $73.31 per barrel. It gained 1.5 percent to $73.45 a barrel in London.

CURRENCIES: The dollar was roughly flat at 111.66 yen, while the euro edged down to $1.1583 from $1.1587 a day earlier.